Crayons and Crackers
by Vfrn
Summary: Tony didn't know he had a son until the little boy's mother died and six-year-old CJ came to live at Avengers tower. Tony and the other Avengers find themselves reading story books, going to Little League games and learning sign language to understand the mute boy.
1. Chapter 1

Tony hung up the phone, a strange expression on his face. Bruce raised an eyebrow. "What was that about?" he asked.

"My son," Tony replied simply and seriously. Bruce looked at him and waited for him to elaborate. "His mother was one of the women I was with before I was Iron Man. I never saw her again and I never knew about him, but she was just killed in a car accident." He took a deep breath and went on. "He's six years old. His name is Christopher Jacob Whitley."

Bruce's eyes widened, as he figured out what the call must have been about. "They want you to take care of Christopher?" he asked. Tony nodded. "Will you?"

"He's my son, and I don't know if he has anywhere else to go," Tony said. "What else could I do?"

Bruce nodded thoughtfully. "I think that's the right choice, but we should talk to the others. We all live here, and this is going to effect everyone a lot."

Tony nodded in agreement. "One other thing," he suddenly said. "Christopher is mute. He was born without vocal cords and he uses sign language to communicate."

Bruce took a deep breath and nodded. "Well, we can learn. Clint and Natasha sign."

Tony raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. "Clint signs? I mean, Natasha knows every language, but Clint just needs to shoot stuff."

"I've been undercover," Clint said, causing Tony to startle and spin around to face him.

"Jesus Christ, you and Natasha need to stop doing that!" he breathed. Bruce stifled a chuckle, having trained himself not to startle easily.

"That's not why I'm fluent in sign language, though," he continued, not elaborating further. "I'll teach you to sign, though, if you want, and probably everyone else, if he's going to be living here. We should go talk to the others."

Within the week, a six-year-old with glasses and short, light brown hair was standing at the front door of Avengers Tower with his suitcases. At Bruce's suggestion, Tony had, for once, gone to answer the door himself. The little kid looked angry and scared. By that time, the only sign language Tony knew was finger-spelling, but the boy had been warned of that.

Tony spoke loudly and slowly, finger-spelling what he said. "Hello, Christopher. My name is Tony, and I am your daddy."

The little boy glared at him. "I can hear you!" he finger-spelled angrily.

Steve pulled Tony away from the door and looked at the kid. "He didn't mean that to be mean," he assured the little boy. "He just didn't know what to do. I'm sure he's sorry."

"Fine," the little boy finger-spelled, still looking annoyed. "Tell him not to call me Christopher. My name is CJ."

As Steve helped CJ carry his bags up to his room, Tony sat down next to Bruce. "I blew it," he muttered. "He hates me."

Bruce put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "He has a right to feel offended by the way you talked to him, but I know you didn't mean to hurt him and you regret what you did, and CJ will figure that out, but you need to go talk to him."

Tony nodded, and followed Steve and CJ upstairs.

When Tony had agreed to take care of CJ, he'd quickly converted one of the tower's guest bedrooms into a kid's room for him. Three walls were white, and the fourth had a wallpaper with brown and blue retro robots. There was a brown and beige patterned rug, and the bedding was striped with brown, blue, green and orange. Spread out on the bed, CJ had a full set of kids' luggage. Along with a suitcase full of clothes, there was a backpack full of books and toys, a duffel bag with baseball gear, a messenger bag with all of his electronics, and an electric keyboard in a case.

When Tony got upstairs, Steve and CJ had almost finished moving all of CJ's clothes into the dresser. "Hey, CJ, I'm sorry," Tony said. The little boy refused to look at him. "I shouldn't have talked to you the way I did. I know you're not deaf and you're not stupid." He took a deep breath. "I didn't know what to do and I was nervous because I really want this to work out for your sake because I didn't know about you until less than a week ago, but you're still my family and I want you to be happy. If you want to unpack your backpack, there's a toy box right over here."

CJ finally looked up at him, offering a small smile and finger-spelling, "Where's the book shelf?" When he opened up his backpack and spilled the contents onto the bed, Tony understood why. What he had expected to be a bag full of toys was mostly filled with more real paper-and-ink books than had seen the inside of Stark – now Avengers – tower since JARVIS had been installed, outside of Bruce's and Steve's suites, of course.

CJ noticed Tony's surprise, but misinterpreted it. "I'm an advanced reader," he finger-spelled proudly.

Tony nodded. "I can see that. I'll get you a bookshelf for your room," he promised. For now, he moved the stacks of mostly children's classics onto the desk. "JARVIS, order a bookshelf for CJ's room. Pick out a nice one, that matches everything else."

"Of course, sir," the hidden speakers in the room replied.

CJ's eyes went wide. "What was that?" he finger-spelled.

"That's just JARVIS," Tony replied casually. "He's an AI; he runs the tower. If you need anything, just tell him."

"It can understand if I sign?" CJ asked

Tony mentally cursed himself; why hadn't he thought of that? "I'll set that up as soon as I can." He helped CJ unpack his surprisingly few – especially to Tony – toys. He had a box with 10 Hot Wheels, a Lego set, a big box of crayons, a teddy bear, a chess set, and a remote control race car. When they put everything in the toy box, they could still see the bottom. "We can get you some more," Tony assured him.

CJ shook his head. "I like my toys." Tony was confused. What little kid didn't want more toys?

JARVIS's voice came on again. "Sir, the pizza is at the door."

"Let him in," Tony replied, and turned back to CJ. "When we get downstairs, I'll introduce you to everyone else. Everyone can finger-spell and two of them are fluent in ASL. The rest of us are learning."

He led CJ down to the kitchen, where everyone else was already gathered around the table, with several open boxes of pizza. "Everyone, this is CJ," he said. "He's the kid I told you about... My son." It was odd to say. CJ waved shyly. "CJ, you've already met Steve. This is my best friend, Bruce. He's really smart and also a doctor and really nice. He likes books, too."

"Nice to meet you, buddy," Bruce said.

"You too," CJ finger-spelled.

Tony went on. "This is my girlfriend, Pepper. She's really great and remembers everything and she's also the CEO of Stark Industries, so I can focus on inventing things."

This time it was CJ who spelled "Nice to meet you," and Pepper who answered him.

Tony gestured to Natasha. "This is Natasha. She's fluent in ASL already, so you don't have to finger-spell with her. She also knows Russian and Chinese and French and Latin. She's amazing jumping and climbing things, too, like a ninja. Basically, she's a bada- really cool." He was going to have to get used to the language thing.

CJ signed something and Natasha responded the same way. Their hands moved so quickly that Tony couldn't follow the movements, much less understand them. Clint joined the conversation and Tony gave up.

After dinner, Tony suggested that CJ go pick out a movie, but then realized he didn't have any kids' movies. "What movies do you like?" he asked.

"Duma," CJ replied with a smile.

Tony didn't recognize the title, and asked Jarvis to look it up.

"A family movie released in 2005 by Warner Brothers, it presents the story of a twelve-year-old boy who journeys to return a rescued cheetah to the wild," the computer responded.

"Buy it, download it." Tony turned to CJ. "Let's go watch Duma." Everyone came into the living room, and Tony told Jarvis to start the movie. CJ, sitting between Tony and Steve, knew the story by heart, but when anything scary happened, he jumped and ducked behind a pillow. Tony tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but the little boy curled away.

At the end of the movie, CJ looked thoughtful. "What is it, buddy?" Tony asked.

CJ started signing, and realized his father didn't understand, so he tediously spelled out. "In the movie, Xan's daddy... went away, like my mommy, but Xan's daddy didn't come back even though he told him that they would go on a trip to where they found Duma."

Tony took a deep breath. How to begin? "I know your mommy loved you very much, but she can't come to you right now. If she could, she would."

"Is she in heaven?"

Tony didn't know how to answer that, but thankfully Steve stepped in. "Your mommy is watching over you right now from heaven, and she's making sure you're okay, and everyone here in the tower wants you to be okay, too, okay?"

The little boy nodded.

"Bedtime," Tony announced.

"Do I have to?" CJ complained.

"Yeah," Tony said. "Sorry, squirt." CJ lead Tony though his bedtime routine. He brushed had a quick bath and was tucked into bed with froggy pajamas on and his teddy bear, which Tony learned was named The Snowman.

"Now we read," CJ told him. He kept his copy of _For The Children's Hour_ on the nightstand even though the rest of the books were on his desk. The stories were easy for his advanced reading level, but they were still good when he was sleepy and he wasn't the one reading them anyway. "Pick one."

Tony decided to start at the beginning, and read "The Little Gray Grandmother."

"Now a song," CJ spelled.

Tony frowned . He couldn't think of a lullaby off the top of his head, because "_you're three now, Tony, you don't need your father to put you to sleep like a little baby; I'm busy._" and because he'd never interacted much with children. "I'll be right back," he assured CJ, and came back out into the living room. "Guys, what's a good lullaby? I don't know any."

"_Blue Shadows_?" Steve suggested. Tony still looked lost, so he followed him to CJ's room and sang.

Arizona moon keep shining  
From the desert sky above  
You know pretty soon  
That big yellow moon  
Will light the way back to the one you love.

Blue shadows on the trail  
Little cowboy, close your eyes and dream  
All of the doggies are in the corral  
All of your work is done  
Just close your eyes and dream little pal  
Dream of someone

Blue shadows on the trail  
Soft wind blowing through the trees above  
All the other little cowboys  
Back in the bunkhouse now, so  
Close your eyes and dream

CJ fell asleep. "Thanks," Tony whispered to Steve and they left him alone. Later that night, Tony went down to his workshop and updated JARVIS for CJ.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony woke up earlier than usual, so he took the elevator up to Bruce's floor. He found his friend meditating and called out his name. No response. He tapped him on the shoulder. Bruce's concentration was not broken. Finally, Tony took a napkin out of the basket on Bruce's table and a rubber band out of his pocket. He grinned, folding up the napkin, and launched a paper wasp at Bruce's ear.

"Ow," Bruce complained, rolling his eyes and getting up.

"Tony, I swear, you're ten years old." Tony just grinned, and Bruce laughed. "Tea?" he offered.

"No thanks." They sat down in the living room. Tony took a deep breath. "Bruce, how do I do this? I mean, I don't know what six-year-olds do! What if I forget feed him? What if I make him cry? What if he gets sick and I don't notice? What if I never pick up sign language? What if I end up like the only example I had?"

"Tony, don't say that," Bruce said after listening patiently. He was used to his friend's rambling. "The difference is you're trying. You know that it's not okay to give a kid money instead of time, because you know what it's like to be on the other side of that. You're a genius; you learned how to build a robot when you were eight. ASL won't be a problem for you. As for a sick or hungry kid his age, it's hard not to notice. They tell you. Besides, you have everyone here to help you: Steve, Clint, Natasha, Thor, Pepper."

"And you," Tony added, but Bruce shook his head.

"I don't think I should spend much time around CJ. I'm dangerous, Tony, remember?"

Tony sighed. "Bruce, give yourself more credit. You've lived here since the Chitauri. You have near superhuman self-control. That's not going to magically change just because one of the family members is six."

Bruce took a deep breath. "Thanks, I know, but... I know what it's like to be little and to be always afraid of someone, that they're going to hurt you."

"I know you do," Tony said. They rarely talked about Bruce's childhood, but Tony was aware of it. "But that's not you, Bruce. CJ has nothing to be afraid of from you. If he did, you wouldn't still be here."

"Okay," Bruce said after a moment.

"Wanna go see if he's awake and likes blueberry pancakes?" Tony suggested. Bruce nodded, and they went back downstairs.

* * *

When they go to CJ's room they found him sitting cross-legged on his bed, reading a children's Shakespeare. He giggled silently at something in the story.

"What's funny?" Tony asked, and CJ looked up, noticing for the first time that he and Bruce had entered.

"Titania loves the donkey-head clown because of Puck's flower," he spelled.

"Ah, _A Midsummer Night's Dream_," Bruce said, recognizing the story. "Do you like the part where he wants to play all the parts in the play?"

CJ looked confused. "That's not in here."

"How much does your book leave out?" Bruce asked, surprised. "When you're older you can read the original story."

"I like stories," CJ spelled.

"You should talk to Thor," Tony suggested. "He's a prince from a different planet and he knows all sorts of stories."

"Cool!" CJ spelled. "When are you going to learn sign language?" he asked.

"Clint is teaching us," Tony assured him. "Brucey and I are geniuses, so it shouldn't take us too long to learn. Last night we did numbers. Do you want breakfast?"

CJ nodded and they headed downstairs.

* * *

They found Thor already in the kitchen, halfway through a box of pop-tarts. CJ went over to him. "You are a prince?"

Thor smiled. "Yes, young Midgardian. I am the next in line to the throne of Asgard, for I am the son of Odin Allfather, who has ruled my land for centuries. "

"Are you like Pericles from the story?"

"I know not the Midgardian legend of which you speak, but I know many Asgardian legends."

"Tell me!" CJ spelled excitedly.

Over cinnamon pop-tarts and blueberry pancakes, Thor recounted the stories of the All-Father, alone in an empty universe, and how he built Niflheim, the land of winter, and Muspelheim, the land of fire. He described the two planets enthusiastically, and how when heat met cold, it created the giant Ymer and the giant cow Audhumbla, and Audhumbla made Thor's ancestors out of ice, and Ymer became the father of the frost giants. Ymer was evil and fought with Thor's ancestors, and they won and made Asgard. Thor lovingly described his homeland, and vividly detailed Jotunheim, the home of the frost giants. He talked about how the giants Night and Day rode their chariots around the world, and Maane and Sol guided the sun and moon. ((A/N: Being vague in places here because I don't know all the Marvel canon on this and my source on the mythology is a children's book.))

CJ listened, wide eyed, when the story was done, he went upstairs to get his crayons and began drawing the winter and fire worlds.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been three days since CJ was in the tower when Tony was woken up by music coming from the little boy's room. It was all melodic and classical, sounding like something Natasha or maybe Bruce would listen to. When he went downstairs to find out what the heck his kid was listening to, he found CJ in front of an electric keyboard playing the melody.

Tony was surprised that he hadn't thought of that. He knew that CJ brought a piano; it should have occurred to him that he could play.

Soon Natasha came into the room, recognizing the song. She smiled at CJ, who now seemed nervous to have people watching him play. "The Toy Box?" she signed.

CJ stopped playing to sign back. "A simplified version..." he replied nervously.

"This was my favorite ballet when I was little," she replied. Before the fire, of course, but she didn't mention that. "Do you mind if I say the narration?"

"Okay," he replied and when he started over, she started narrating.

"Toys are sleeping in a box..." She translated and recited the narration from memory until CJ stopped about ten minutes in, right when the police man shows up and the toys got back to sleep.

"That's all I know," he spelled.

"That was great," Tony assured him and Natasha nodded in agreement.

CJ looked at Natasha and signed, "Why was your narration different than what's in my book?"

Natasha smiled and signed back, "Well, the words are probably different because it's translated from the original French, and I had to translate the version I knew from Russian."

"Are you from Russia?" he asked and she nodded. "Tell me about Russia."

She recounted all the stories she remembered from when her parents were alive. They were still signing and at some point during the conversation, Tony gave up hope of understanding and left. When she was done, an enthralled CJ pushed her for more. "What about when you were my age?"

Natasha hesitated, not sure how to reply. "When I was your age I lived in a very scary place, and I'd rather not talk about it," she finally said. CJ looked concerned, so she added, "That's not going to happen to you, and I'm okay now."

"Good," CJ replied, hugging her. "I like you."

"Do you want to go have a snack?" she suggested, and he nodded.

* * *

When they got down to the kitchen, CJ couldn't find anything he wanted, so he went looking for Tony. "Do you have animal crackers and juice boxes?" he spelled when he found his... father. (It still felt weird to say, even in his head.)

"No, sorry." Tony was annoyed with himself for not thinking of that. "I'll have JARVIS order some."

Before he could ask the AI, CJ signed back. "Can you take me to the supermarket so I can pick out what I want?"

Tony was about to say no, that he didn't go grocery shopping, but it sounded so important to little CJ and he realized that he wouldn't know what to order unless he knew what the kid liked. He said "Okay."

That's how Tony Stark ended up carting a six-year-old through a crowded Stop and Shop. As they wandered through the aisles, CJ loaded the cart up with snacks and kiddie food, long beyond the point where an experienced or budgeted parent would say "No more junk food."

There was celery, apples, baby carrots, mixed berries, microwave bacon, hot dogs, fish sticks, hamburger patties, chicken nuggets, deli meat and cheese, chocolate milk, string cheese, whipped cream, GoGurt, Danimals, various juice and lemonade boxes, Sprite, root beer, cupcakes, cookies, donuts, muffins, an ice cream cake, ice cream, sherbert, Toaster Strudel, popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, marshmallows, chocolate chips, pudding, Jell-o, syrup, Chef Boyardee, Gummi Bears, candy bars, gum, Jolly Ranchers, lollipops, chips, Cheetohs, Chex Mix, animal crackers, Chips Ahoy, Fudge Stripes, Fig Newtons, ginger snaps, graham crackers, Oreos, Nilla Wafers, Nutter Butters, Cheese-Itz, Ritz crackers, Handi-Snacks, Goldfish, bread sticks, Fruit Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups, Fruit Snacks, sprinkles, chocolate sauce, Fluff, popcorn, pretzels, pretzel sticks, Rice Krispie Treats and an assortment of kids' cereals.

"You sure you want all that?" Tony asked hesitantly, but when CJ nodded he didn't say any more.

* * *

When they got home, CJ had his orange juice and animal crackers, but by then it was practically lunch time. He asked Tony if he could have ice cream for lunch and got a "Whatever you want," so he made himself a sundae with four scoops and plenty of toppings. After that he colored and snack on candy and soda until he was bouncing off the walls.

CJ ran into the living room and paced circles around the couch. "Can I go outside?" he spelled excitedly at the Tony and Bruce. "Do you have a swing set? Do you have a trampoline?

Tony laughed. "We live in a tower, kiddo. We don't have a yard." CJ looked crestfallen, and Tony hurried to fix it. "Do you want me to take you to the park?" he asked.

CJ nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. Yes please!"

* * *

At the park, Tony managed to get CJ to play on the playground for a little bit while he worked on his tablet, but the little boy soon roped his dad into endless games of tag, hide and seek and catch. Tony hadn't played outside this much even when _he_ was a kid. God, he felt old thinking that.

One game of hide and seek brought them within sight of the park's baseball field, where a Little League game was going on. CJ stopped to watch. "You like baseball?" Tony asked.

"I want to play," CJ replied.

"Well, you can't join their game; you have to be a member of their Little League."

"I know; I'm not stupid. I want to play Little League." CJ sat and watched the rest of the game while Tony went back to his tablet.

When the game was over, Tony caught the attention of one of the coaches. "My son is interested in playing baseball. How do I make that happen?"

"Well, registration is not usually open during the season, but one of the kids on our team moved to California, so there's a spot to fill." He gave Tony a website to register.

"Thank you," Tony said, and then added, almost as an afterthought, "CJ is mute. He uses sign language." The coach suddenly looked hesitant. "Is that a problem?"

"Well, I don't speak sign language and I don't think any of the kids on the team do, either, so I'm not sure how that would work..."

Tony took a deep breath, almost unable to believe what he was about to say. "Do you need an assistant coach? I could volunteer if it means CJ can play."

The coach grinned. "That would be fantastic. Fill out the volunteer form, same website, and both of you be here on Thursday at six."

CJ, who was listening, ran up and hugged Tony. "Thank you!" he signed. Tony, for his part, wondered what he had gotten himself into. He took comfort in how happy CJ was, and realized that it wasn't something _his_ father would even consider, so it must be a good idea.

* * *

That night, Tony had CJ tucked in and story read, and was about to go get Steve to sing, but CJ requested Natasha. Tony got her and she came up to the little boy's room. "Why did you ask for me?" she asked.

"I've never had a lullaby in Russian."

Natasha chuckled. He wanted her to sing? She thought for a moment and then began to sing.

"What does that mean?" he asked when she was done.

"It's about a little boy sleeping in his bed and how tomorrow he's going to sing and dance and play in the garden."

"Good night," he signed.

"Good night, CJ."


	4. Chapter 4

Thursday was the first time since CJ arrived that Tony wore one of his shirts with a hole for the reactor. It wasn't even something he actively noticed; it just made certain shirts more comfortable to wear. He didn't think about it until he came into the kitchen for breakfast, and CJ stopped and stared at his chest.

"Daddy," he signed. Tony had learned that the sign for dad was spreading out his hand and tapping his thumb against his forehead. Wiggling his fingers made it daddy. He wasn't going to forget that particular sign. "You have a shiny thing stuck in your chest." The poor little guy looked terrified.

"Aw, CJ..." Tony sighed. "You didn't know about my Arc reactor, did you?"

"Is it dangerous?" the little boy asked.

Tony pulled the little boy into his lap. "No, buddy, it keeps me alive. See, I have some metal pieces around my heart that shouldn't be there, and the reactor has a magnet that keeps it away from my heart and helps it keep beating even though the metal damaged it."

"What would happen if you didn't have it?"

Tony was careful to phrase his response hypothetically. The little boy didn't need to know about the incident with Stane. "The shrapnel would still have a while to get to my heart, but without the pacemaker-like side to it I would start losing energy really fast and need to get a new reactor quickly because soon I wouldn't even be able to walk."

"I like your reactor, then," CJ replied, "because I like when you can walk and play baseball." Tony chuckled. "Does it hurt?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah, but it's something I'm used to. It doesn't bother me." CJ put his hand against the light, and it was all Tony could do to stay calm and not push him away. "Please don't touch it," he said firmly. "That freaks me out because it's pretty important." The little boy nodded and pulled his hand away. They finished their breakfast and then CJ went off to play with LEGOs.

* * *

When the little boy was gone, Bruce came over to him. "I didn't know it hurt you. How deep does it go?"

"'Bout five inches. Don't worry about it, doc."

Bruce nodded reluctantly. Knowing his friend, Tony had probably never willingly let a doctor look at it, and there are plenty of important things in the human chest.

* * *

That afternoon, CJ was bouncing off the walls with excitement. He had his duffel bag with his baseball stuff slung over his shoulder, and signed "Ready? Ready?" over and over again. The sign had him cross his fingers on both hands, put them together and then spread them apart.

"Just a minute, kiddo," Tony laughed, putting on his shoes. Then they headed out the door and walked to the park. When they got there, the only people who were already there were Coach Will Howell and his son, Brandon Howell.

"Hey, guys," Coach Will called as they approached. He turned to his son. "Brandon, this is our new assistant coach, Coach Tony, and our new teammate, CJ. CJ uses sign language, but he can understand what you say."

Brandon shook Tony's hand. "Nice to meet you, Coach Tony." Then he turned to CJ. "Do you like space ships?" he asked excitedly. CJ nodded, and they ran off to play catch until the other kids arrived, while Will walked Tony through the plan for the day's practice.

* * *

Once all the kids arrived (eight other boys and three girls), Coach Will called them back for warm-ups. He introduced CJ and Tony the same way he did with Brandon, and then lead stretches and had the kids run a lap around the bases.

"Now let's do throwing and catching," Coach Will said. "We're doing one-knee form throwing. Luke, do you want to demonstrate with me?"

A tall, redheaded boy came up to the front and helped the coach demonstrate the techniques. Then everyone got a partner. "Luke, you can be with Eric, Brandon with Jonathan, Katie with Sean, Amelia with Robbie, David with Maddie and CJ with Tyler."

CJ found his assigned partner, a dark-haired, freckled boy. They started throwing back and forth. While CJ tried to concentrate on his technique, Tyler talked at him. "You know, new kid, I don't know if you have what it takes to be on a team like ours. We're too tough for tiny, bookwormy losers. Just because your dad is Iron Man doesn't mean we all have to worship you, you know. I bet you're mad you can't say anything back. I bet it's good you can't talk, because every word that came out of your mouth would be so stupid we'd all die."

At that last comment, CJ put his hands up to sign something back, even though he knew Tyler wouldn't understand, and the bully took aim and threw the ball, knocking the glasses off of CJ's face and into the grass. CJ started to cry.

When the coaches came running over, Tyler played the perfect angel. "I was just throwing and catching with him like you said, and since he's new and all I guess he couldn't catch a simple toss, but I didn't mean to hit him."

Thankfully, Coach Will saw what really happened and made Tyler sit on the bleachers with his mom for the rest of practice. CJ tried to look tough, but was holding back tears. He found his glasses, which luckily weren't broken, and put them on. The coach had him join Brandon and Jonathan's group to finish the drill. Then they did base running, fielding and hitting practice, and finished off with a relay race where each kid who got to the finish line had to throw the ball to the next member of their group. By the end of practice, CJ felt like a member of the team and Tony felt like a real coach.

* * *

At the end they found out that Tyler O'Connor had hit his last warning and was off the team for what he did during throwing. Mrs. O'Connor stormed over to defend her little angel while Tyler stood behind him and smirked at CJ, but the coaches held firm. "Your son wanted to play baseball," Will said. "Three strikes, he's out."

Then he apologized for partnering CJ with the bully, having just slotted him into the moved-away boy's spot in the rotation. CJ made the universal "Okay" sign.

Coach Will grinned. "See, I understand some sign language," he joked. They laughed, and CJ didn't point out that technically that wasn't real sign language. He got his blue team hat and t-shirt and Coach Will told them about a game at three o'clock that Saturday. They all said goodbye.

* * *

On the way back, they stopped at an ice cream stand. Its tables were fairly crowded, being mid-August, so they sat a ways away on a park bench. Halfway through his black raspberry chocolate swirl, CJ signed one-handedly to Tony, "Tyler said I'm stupid because I'm mute, or I'm mute because I'm stupid... or something. He wasn't making much sense, but I'm not stupid, am I?"

Tony pulled him into a hug. "Aw, CJ, you're the smartest six-year-old I know. Bullies just aren't very creative, but that's his problem, okay?" CJ nodded and Tony went on. "If someone makes fun of you for being mute again, remember that it's just an excuse. Bullies will pick on anyone they think will react the way they want and if you weren't mute they'd find something else. There's nothing wrong with you, buddy."

CJ nodded, smiling. After they finished their ice cream, they went home and Tony got CJ ready for bed. He still wasn't comfortable trying to sing a lullaby, so this time he got Bruce to do it. Bruce still wasn't comfortable being alone with CJ, so Tony stayed in the room Bruce began to sing:

_Christopher Robin and I walked along  
Under branches lit up by the moon  
Posing our questions to Owl and Eeyore  
As our days disappeared all too soon  
But I've wandered much further today than I should  
And I can't seem to find my way back to the Wood_

_So help me if you can_  
_I've got to get back_  
_To the House at Pooh Corner by one_  
_You'd be surprised_  
_There's so much to be done_  
_Count all the bees in the hive_  
_Chase all the clouds from the sky__  
__Back to the days of Christopher Robin and Pooh_

Bruce sang the other two verses, too, and when he finished the both hugged CJ good night and the little boy fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

By that Saturday, Tony was used to waking up after CJ and finding him in his room reading, coloring or playing his piano. On Saturday morning he went in and found him sitting on his bed with a small stack of comic books. A couple were about real-world superheroes like Spiderman and the Fantastic Four, but most of them were fictional heroes like Superman and Batman.

Without looking up from the page, CJ explained, "Brandon let me borrow these at practice, and he wants them back at the game today, so I have to finish them." He was reading Batman: Li'l Gotham and stopped at a panel with Batman and Robin fighting bad guys together. "Hey Daddy," he signed, "do you need a sidekick?"

"Absolutely not," Tony said firmly.

"But I could have a suit just like yours!" CJ argued. "Only mine would be blue and silver."

Tony thought back to the portal in New York and shuddered to think of a child in that situation. "No. The Iron Man suit is designed to help me protect people. I refuse to use that technology to put you in harm's way."

CJ pouted. "You put yourself in harm's way."

"I'm not six years old," Tony pointed out.

"I'm completely a big boy!" CJ argued, inadvertently undermining his point.

"No," Tony said firmly and finally. CJ pouted and crossed his arms, and went back to his Batman comic.

For the next half hour or so, CJ refused to sign to Tony, but he broke his "silent" treatment at breakfast to ask for a blueberry toaster strudel he couldn't reach, and by lunchtime he seemed to be over the issue.

He dipped a chicken nugget into his sweet and sour sauce and looked around the table. "I have a baseball game today. We're playing against the red team," he signed excitedly.

"Way to go, slugger," Steve replied. "I'll be there; I love a good ballgame."

CJ looked thrilled. "Yay! You can meet my friend Brandon and watch me play baseball and watch Daddy be a coach."

Clint grinned. "I'll come just to see that. Tony Stark: Little League dad extraordinaire."

"I'll come and babysit him," Natasha said with a small smile.

"What about the rest of you?" CJ asked. "Thor, are you coming?"

"I am always fascinated by such aspects of Midgardian culture, and as I understand it baseball involves both throwing and hitting objects with a blunt implement."

"Huh?" CJ signed, a sign that could be understood by anyone.

"Indeed, I shall attend."

"Bruce?" Bruce shook his head. CJ looked hurt. "You don't want to see me play baseball? It's my very first game here."

"Sorry, buddy," Bruce said. "There'll be too many kids around, and lots of cheering and yelling. It's not safe."

"Okay," CJ signed reluctantly. He'd really hoped for all of his new family to come to his game, but he understood vaguely that Bruce had a problem that made him sometimes hurt people. "I bet the super-secret agents have a super-cool hidden camera with lasers that can record the whole thing for you."

Bruce chuckled. "That'd be great."

CJ looked adorable in his Little League uniform, which at his age consisted of a t-shirt and a hat, and had a sponsor's name the same on everyone's shirt where older kids would get their own name. His number was eight. His blue team hat didn't have a logo.

"You guys ready?" he signed, running around near the front door.

"Just a minute, kiddo," Steve laughed.

"Doesn't the game not start until three?" Clint asked.

"We're supposed to get there early to warm up, and that means I have to get there even earlier to play with Brandon."

When everyone was ready, CJ took off running down the sidewalk. The other Avengers easily kept up with the little boy. His enthusiasm was contagious.

When they got to the park, Brandon came running over. "Look what I found on the computer!" He showed CJ a printout of the sign language alphabet from a kids' website. "Now I can know what you say!"

"Awesome!" CJ spelled back. Brandon asked him to slow down so that he could decipher it. "A-W-E-S-O-M-E."

CJ gave Brandon back his comic books, and the two boys chattered excitedly about the Justice League until the rest of the team members showed up. Will and Tony lead them through warm-ups, Tony falling confidently into his new role.

A few of the kids came over to the other Avengers, mostly Steve and Thor. The redheaded boy Luke, especially, kept asking questions, starting with Thor. "Are you a real space alien? Are you really a prince? Do you have a crown? How high can you throw your hammer? Can you put it on the moon? What's it like to fly? Can you show me how to make a lightning bolt?"

Without pausing for breath, he moved on to Steve. "Are you a real time traveler? Did you go in an iceberg for a hundred years like Aang? Are you the avatar? Did you bring your own Appa?" Steve looked thoroughly bewildered by the time the little Nickelodeon fan moved on to Clint and Natasha.

"Are you real top-secret agents? Have you met James Bond and Perry? Do you know where I live just from looking at me? Where's Hulk? How tall is Hulk? How does he fit inside the tower?"

They took turns answering him until Will came over to bring him back to the team. Steve looked at the others. "What is an 'Appa'?" Clint shrugged.

Soon the game began. At the six-year-old level the kids rotated positions every inning, playing for six. CJ was thrilled in the third inning, when he got to pitch. He was right after Brandon in the continuous batting order, which meant they got to sit together on the bench, and CJ taught his friend a few signs while they chatted about Mario Kart. Tony and Will directed the kids on the rules more than they strategized. Tony had read the official Little League rulebook cover to cover the night before.

While Steve watched the game with nostalgia and enthusiasm, Thor watched with confusion as he tried to work out the details of the game. Clint and Natasha didn't pay much attention except to Tony and CJ.

The entire team shouted chants as each player went up to bat. Katie was the first up at bat and the kids all yelled, "Katie, Katie, we're her fans! If she can't hit it, nobody can!" Each kid got a version with their name. CJ wanted to shout with the other kids, but he just signed the words. He showed Brandon the signs and his friend signed with him, which made him feel better. A couple other kids, Maddie and Eric joined in.

When the game ended, the red team won, but no one was disappointed for too long because after the coaches lined everyone up and had them shake hands, the whole team went to the ice cream stand and had ice cream together, a team tradition. Then CJ signed goodbye to his new friends and walked home with his family.

When he got home, he ran up to Bruce and gave him a hug. "You should have come. You missed ice cream."

Bruce smiled. "Can I make it up to you? I'll take you for ice cream tomorrow morning when there won't be many kids around."

"Okay," CJ signed with a grin. "Before church?"

"Sure," Bruce replied.

Tony raised an eyebrow. _Church?_


	6. Chapter 6

Saturday afternoon, the adults asked CJ what type of church he went to, and after some confusion ("a big white one") he had been able to clarify that he was "eppascople". Bruce had found a nearby episcopal church that had a mass with no singing at eight 'o clock, so he told CJ that since church started at eight, they'd have to get up early if they wanted to get ice cream first. CJ had agreed, so now it was morning and Bruce was headed to the boy's room to get him up.

The six-year-old was curled up in bed, both arms wrapped tightly around the Snowman. "Time to get up," Bruce called.

CJ rolled over groggily and then his eyes brightened when he remembered. "Ice cream!"

He quickly got dressed and ready to go, and held onto Bruce's hand as they hurried down the sidewalk to the ice cream shop.

When they got there, CJ wanted to order himself, so he picked out the flavor he wanted and pointed to it. "You're old enough to use your words," the cashier told him condescendingly, and it was all Bruce could do not to get mad and snap at the guy.

He kept his cool, as usual, and CJ signed "vanilla cherry" to make his point.

"Oh," the cashier said sheepishly. "A deaf kid." CJ rolled his eyes as Bruce gave his own order and paid.

"That guy was stupid," CJ said, once they got to a table outside.

"Don't call people names," Bruce chided, but then agreed, "I wanted to yell at him."

"Why didn't you?" CJ asked.

"Well, first of all, it's not nice, but I also have a problem where I can't get angry," Bruce explained vaguely.

"You _can't_ can't or you're not allowed?"

"The latter. ...Sort of. If I get angry, I change into someone else, much bigger and stronger and meaner and dumber." (Hulk protested this characterization from the back of Bruce's mind.)

CJ put two and two together. "Oh my God, you're the Hulk!" and Bruce was lucky that no one around understood sign language. "I thought he didn't live in the tower because he wouldn't fit through the door or he'd break everything, but if you're a shapeshifter that makes so much sense!" He started whistling the cartoon theme song and signing the words. "Wrecking the town with the power of a bull/Ain't no monster clown who is as lovable/As ever-loving Hulk! Hulk! Hulk!"

Bruce sighed. "Did Tony license that?" he asked rhetorically. He'd have to talk to him about that one. "Anyway, I'm sorry I didn't warn you before and if you're going to be scared of me I understand."

CJ frowned. "Why would I do that? You're the Hulk! That's so awesome! Can you shapeshift for me right now?"

"Absolutely not," Bruce said firmly. "The Other Guy is not a toy. He's incredibly dangerous."

"You have a nickname for him? Cool!"

It occurred to Bruce that in this way, CJ certainly took after his father. It felt good to not be feared, although he realized that the little boy would probably feel differently if he was ever face-to-face with nine feet of power and anger. "Most people are afraid, though," he explained, "So I would appreciate it if you didn't tell everyone what I am."

CJ nodded and gave Bruce a hug. They spent the rest of the time talking about books and CJ's baseball team long after they had finished their ice cream.

When Bruce checked his watch he noticed that it was eight fifteen and they still needed to get back to the tower and get church clothes. "Looks like we might have to miss the eight o'clock mass, buddy."

"Isn't there a next one? There's usually more than one."

"There's a nine o'clock one," Bruce said hesitantly. He had been trying to avoid the ones with singing because CJ couldn't, but it seemed important to him not to miss church.

"Okay, lets go to that!" CJ said.

CJ skipped ahead of the group as they approached the church. It was a pretty white building with an arched doorway and a big, round window on the front. CJ headed inside, waved to the priest, and found seats. "So how does this work?" Tony asked, sliding in next to him.

CJ giggled silently. "Shh. Pray until the priest starts talking and then follow along." He knelt down and folded his hands, and the others followed suit except for Tony. Most of them, save for Steve, were non-practicing, but only Tony had been brought up completely atheist and he saw no point in pretending.

When the first song started, Bruce realized that his concerns had been completely unfounded. CJ was following along in the book and signed the words proudly in the air. He did the same with spoken responses. Tony looked at how engaged and confident his son was and realized that the little boy had probably been brought up pretty religious. What was he supposed to do with that? His own son, a little church boy.

When the collection basket came around, CJ fished in his pocket and found sixteen cents to donate. Tony wordlessly handed him a twenty, pocket change for Tony Stark but more money than most six-year-olds, CJ included, had held at once in their lives. CJ looked up at him questioningly, looking at the basket, and Tony nodded, so he threw it in

When they went up to get communion, CJ crossed his arms over his chest to refuse the holy wine, and Tony followed suit and did the same when they got the bread, which CJ did take, signing his Amen. "Is he deaf?" the priest asked. "We have services for the hearing impaired."

"He can hear," Tony replied, and hurried back to his seat.

Soon church was over. CJ held onto Tony's hand as the crowd of people swarmed out the doors and they all headed home. "I know not of this deity, Jesus," Thor said. "Is he of Asgard?"

Tony chuckled. "No, he's... we can talk later."

CJ looked up at his father and let go of his hand so he could sign. "Daddy, why didn't you pray?"

Tony sighed, working out what to say. "I'm atheist, squirt. Do you know what that means?" CJ shook his head, and Tony winced. How to explain that? He didn't want to completely confuse the poor kid. "It means that I think God and Jesus are just pretend."

CJ raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I know you don't think so, and that's okay too, and Steve believes in them too, so you can talk to him about that stuff if you want," Tony added quickly.

"I'll take you to church from now on," Steve offered. "Your dad is scared of church."

"I just think it's kind of creepy when everyone says the same thing in unison," Tony clarified defensively. Bruce chuckled. "Anyway, CJ, why don't you come down to my workshop with me when we get back. I'm working on something and I think you'll think it's cool, so I want to show you."

"What kind of cool thing?" CJ asked.

"You like space ships, right?" Tony asked with a grin, and CJ's eyes lit up. "Let's go!"


End file.
